The early word on the state of Illinois for the 2013 class is that it will be a very strong year. Ohio State has already offered a handful of prospects from Illinois in the class and another prospect out of the Prairie State is expected to make it to Columbus on Sunday in Peoria (Ill.) Richwoods running back Kendrick Foster. The 5-foot-8, 182-pound back rushed for nearly 2,500 yards and over 30 touchdowns as a junior.

"I've been talking to coach Mike (Vrabel)," said Foster. "I talk to him a lot and he said he was going to show my film to the rest of the coaches. He said that he loves my film and my ability so I'm going to see down there and see what they have to say."

Foster said he's looking forward to getting his first look at Ohio State and interacting with the coaching staff.

"I'm looking forward to seeing a new environment, seeing how they feel about being like a family," he said. "It should be a good trip; I'm just going down with my mom and seeing how she feels about the whole thing."

Foster picked up an offer from Illinois State early in the process and is now hearing from several BCS conference programs.

"Right now I'm getting looks from West Virginia, Boston College, Northwestern, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, UCLA, USC, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, I think those are the only ones right now," he said. "Pretty much the ones that are really showing interest are Northwestern, Ohio State, and Illinois, they are showing the most interest."

The talented runner commented on each of the three programs that he singled out as showing the most interest to this point.

On Illinois - "I met the coaching staff and they're great, I love them. Coach Butkus, their head coach (Tim Beckman), and their offensive coordinator coach Gonzalez. They're like a family there and they want prospects from Illinois to stay in Illinois. They sound real interested and I like their offense and it's close to home."

On Northwestern - "I like Northwestern a lot. They are very interested in me and they told me I'm a special player. I don't have an offer yet from them but we are just communicating right now, everything sounds good from them so far."

On Ohio State - "Ohio State has been one of my dream colleges since I was little. I grew up watching Beanie Wells and I always just liked Ohio State. It's close to home and they run the ball, I want to go to a school that runs the football and doesn't just pass all of the time."